Development of SJTs for prospective teacher selection is currently underway

A convincing body of evidence shows that teachers are the most significant in-school influence on student achievement. The process of selecting the most effective future teachers has implications not only for individual applicants and education systems, but for society as a whole.

Professor Rob Klassen talks about using situational judgement tests

The Team and Collaborators Behind the Research

Researchers from the Psychology in Education Research Centre (PERC) at the University of York are working to develop a reliable, valid, practical and evidence-supported SJT. Results show our pilot SJT exhibits excellent psychometric properties and is significantly correlated with interview criteria, meaning that the test may be useful for initial screening of non-cognitive attributes. Initial results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and provide a robust rationale for extending the work on a wider platform.

Our work has now been extended to Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and Oman with a number of teacher training providers and education authorities involved in development of locally-relevant content and norms. Further development of SJTs to reflect the differential non-cognitive attributes necessary for success in primary and secondary settings is in development.

We dream of the day when every teacher in every school is effective and inspirational for all learners

Rob Klassen

Lead Researcher

Professor and Chair Psychology in Education Research Centre University of York, UK